John Masters Posted February 15, 2020 Share Posted February 15, 2020 My bench is clear and I am very excited to build these two very interesting post-war Spitfires, one from Denmark (1950s) and the other from Norway in 1946. The Norwegian will be a Mk.IXe and the Danish bird will be a Mk.IX bubble top. Both are AZ Model kits and although many people have had issues with these kits I have built quite a few and have found the experience quite enjoyable. Their detail is good, their fit is very workable and, in the end, one ends up with a very good facsimile of the aircraft. I mean, it's not Eduard, but what is? Here are the required opening shots... Norway... Denmark... And that's it. I hope to start in tomorrow morning but it is only 19:40 on a Saturday night, the wind's howling and the rain is coming down and there isn't much else to do...Hmmm... I also have a KP Mig-21bis from Finland waiting in the Nissen hut...dare I? Ohhhh boy...🤪 --John 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Col. Posted February 15, 2020 Share Posted February 15, 2020 These are a cracking couple of examples to showcase the famous Spitfire in some of her less common schemes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grandboof Posted February 16, 2020 Share Posted February 16, 2020 Awesome pair and if you added the Mig a certain someone would be pleased Martin H Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Masters Posted February 16, 2020 Author Share Posted February 16, 2020 6 hours ago, Col. said: a cracking couple of examples I agree Col. They will be welcome additions to the Spitfire shelf. 1 hour ago, Grandboof said: if you added the Mig a certain someone would be pleased I might do that...who is that certain someone? If I have three kits on the bench at once, that will be work keeping the parts separate...Migfire? 😁 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Masters Posted February 16, 2020 Author Share Posted February 16, 2020 A little primer in the morning! I am using some Humbrol rattle can Light Olive for the primer on the Spitfire interiors. That way I save Grey Primer, use up the older paint and I don't have to wind up the old airbrush. Norway...note that I have marked the sprue..'N'... and 'D' for Denmark...I have removed the parts I won't be using for this build and put them aside in a bag. OK. I'll jump into these this afternoon. --John 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Col. Posted February 16, 2020 Share Posted February 16, 2020 You know your way around these kits now due to plenty of previous experience John so I'm sure we'll see rapid progress Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Masters Posted February 16, 2020 Author Share Posted February 16, 2020 22 minutes ago, Col. said: I'm sure we'll see rapid progress Thanks Col. I'm hoping the Mig will slow me down. Plus, I am off island for most of the week after Tuesday so there's that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Masters Posted February 16, 2020 Author Share Posted February 16, 2020 Okey-dokey... I had to trim this bit off of the back of the IXc and add the headrest to make the Norwegian IXe... The two cockpit components are, for the most part, identical except for the frame behind the seat. I will add some masking tape for seat harnesses. Once the cockpit components are assembled, I can let them dry. A brief test fit of each to the fuselage halves looked good. I have painted the fuselage interiors and attached the O2 tanks. Almost none of this will be visible when I close up the fuselage. I have added pieces of plastic card to cover the exhaust ports. This allows me to attach the exhausts after the fact and not have them fall inside the fuselage. --John 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trickyrich Posted February 16, 2020 Share Posted February 16, 2020 Ok I did reply to this thread a couple of days ago but the hamster that's turns the wheel that drives the thingy must have broken down and it didn't post! So here it is again for your reading pleasure... welcome along again John, you do seem to have caught that very contagious Nordic bug! Both are really nice choices, I like the schemes, thou the bubble top is the prettier of the two. Good luck with these build, I know you're going to produce a couple of lovelies for the gallery. Right now that's out of the way, nice start to the builds. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Masters Posted February 17, 2020 Author Share Posted February 17, 2020 9 hours ago, trickyrich said: Right now that's out of the way Thanks Rich ! 😁 I do seem to have an affinity for the Scandinavian peninsula. Perhaps in a former life. The Spits are coming along. I have assembled and closed up the fuselage halves on both kits. No issues. Easy fit, no glaringly large gaps-yet! And as of this morning, clamps off... Wings tonight! --John 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Courageous Posted February 17, 2020 Share Posted February 17, 2020 Flying along there John. Keep up the good work. Stuart Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Col. Posted February 17, 2020 Share Posted February 17, 2020 Tidy progress x2 John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Masters Posted February 18, 2020 Author Share Posted February 18, 2020 11 hours ago, Col. said: Tidy progress x2 John Thanks Col. 22 hours ago, Courageous said: Flying along there Siga, siga...thanks! Here is something odd. I am not sure what these gunport represent on the Norwegian IXe, but I followed the directions. below is a tale of two wings... Part one...putting them together. No worries there. Clean and neat. I have removed the butt end of the Norwegian set so I can add the wing tips. Wingtips on...they will require some cleaning up and touch of filler. I first used CA and then filled the cracks with thin cement. And now with all the bubbles, burps and bangers... A quick test fit this morning showed the usual wing-root gaps I have experienced with these kits but otherwise good fits. --John 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beard Posted February 18, 2020 Share Posted February 18, 2020 28 minutes ago, John D.C. Masters said: Here is something odd. I am not sure what these gunport represent on the Norwegian IXe, but I followed the directions. If you mean the bit AZ tell you to drill out, it's to represent the .50 that the 'e' wing had in the on-board cannon bay. If not, then I'm stumped. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Masters Posted February 18, 2020 Author Share Posted February 18, 2020 3 hours ago, Beard said: it's to represent the .50 I'll buy it. Sounds reasonable! Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Masters Posted February 19, 2020 Author Share Posted February 19, 2020 Did this last night...air scoops... And the rudders... That's it until the weekend when I return--Saturday night, Sunday day...something along those lines. Meanwhile I will stop by the LMS in Athens and try not to buy anything. Actually, I need a new hose for the airbrush. Maybe. Gaffer tape seemed to do the trick. --John 5 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Col. Posted February 19, 2020 Share Posted February 19, 2020 Those two are quickly becoming Spitfire-shaped Might have to treat yourself to something at the Athens LMS after clearing out so much of your stash in recent GBs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Masters Posted February 19, 2020 Author Share Posted February 19, 2020 31 minutes ago, Col. said: clearing out so much of your stash in recent GBs Ohhh....but I currently have a moratorium on new kits. I have boxes in storage of kits that I am afraid will never be built. The perils of being somewhat single with no children. Next fall I'll have another giveaway. It is maddening to receive emails from Hannants...New Arrivals!!!!!! Makes me want to scream. This means, of course, that if I see something interesting at the store I might have to pick it up. My recent 'helicopter fetish' is a dangerous game... Speaking of which...nothing from Iceland in this GB so far, or am I missing something? Not much to choose from really, unless we include NATO forces based there. Their Coast Guard has some helicopters...commercial jets...hmmm... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Icelandic_Coast_Guard 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterB Posted February 19, 2020 Share Posted February 19, 2020 (edited) Hi John, As I recall the "e" wing had the cannon in the "other" bay compared to the layout on the "c" wing so maybe that is what they are trying to tell you? The standard "c" wing had spaces for up to 2 cannon and 4x.303 mg, with the cannon being in the inner of the 2 bays on a normal Mk IX (same layout as the "b" wing), the outer bay blanked off with a quite long stub, and the 2 mg fitted outboard on each wing. On the "e" wing the armament was just 1 20mm cannon and 1 0.5" mg per wing, and the cannon went in the outer of the 2 bays with the 50cal in the inner with its muzzle protruding through a short sleeve I think and the ports for the 2x.303 blanked off AFAIK. The bigger blisters should be over the cannon and the smaller one should presumably be over the 50cal. As to the bulge over the wheel well this has been subject of great debate. The size of the wheels and tyres progressively increased throughout the life of the Spit, but I have read somewhere that the Mk IX would not have needed a bulge, until it was retro-fitted with the larger wheels/tyres after the war. As the preserved ones are in post war state it has apparently confused kit manufacturers for years. You will find lots of correspondence on this subject elsewhere on BM. I would expect your 1950 machine to have bulges over the wheels but I am not sure about the 1946 one. Getting back to the guns, I would say if your clipped one is the "e" it is correct but that if the other is meant to be a "c" it may be wrong. Sorry Pete Edited February 19, 2020 by PeterB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Masters Posted February 19, 2020 Author Share Posted February 19, 2020 3 minutes ago, PeterB said: Getting back to the guns, I would say if your clipped one is the "e" it is correct but that if the other is meant to be a "c" it may be wrong. Sorry Don't apologize! I'm not about to go back and refit these things. The clipped is a Danish LF IX--that's all it says--and the Norwegian is an 'e'. To quote Terry Gilliam, "It's only a model..."😉 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterB Posted February 19, 2020 Share Posted February 19, 2020 Fair enough John, As I have said in a previous thread or two, there is virtually no such thing as totally 100% guaranteed correct info as sources are sometimes wrong, and planes get changed/rebuilt over time. As somebody else said, you can only be certain if you have either a good pic of a particular machine, or better still seen the ruddy thing yourself. The designation HF and LF were used in a confusing fashion - many assume it is to do with the wings and are partly correct, but it is also to do with the engine - RR made high and low altitude versions with changes to the supercharging so LF Spits could have normal or clipped wings and HF could have normal of extended ones. I had assumed the clipped wing was for an LF version, and most "e" wings were for LF machines, but by no means all - I was probably wrong, not for the first time. Cheers Pete Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Masters Posted February 19, 2020 Author Share Posted February 19, 2020 1 hour ago, PeterB said: there is virtually no such thing as totally 100% guaranteed correct info as sources are sometimes wrong, and planes get changed/rebuilt over time. As somebody else said, you can only be certain if you have either a good pic of a particular machine, or better still seen the ruddy thing yourself. Right! If I start down those paths I will never build anything. I have seen threads like that, spiralling into the minutiae. It is not place I want to go. Thank you for the information Peter! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterB Posted February 19, 2020 Share Posted February 19, 2020 Hi John, Personally I am great believer in the 80-20 rule. If you can get it 80% right with 20% of the work, is it really worth spending a huge amount of time trying to be perfect? I think not so none of my builds have been or ever will be perfect. As you say - it is meant to be fun!. Enjoy yourself - I certainly like your builds, and no criticism was intended, just me having one of my senile rambling sessions. Pete 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trickyrich Posted February 19, 2020 Share Posted February 19, 2020 nice work so far John.....even with THOSE instructions!! enjoy your break......there's always room for more models!! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Col. Posted February 20, 2020 Share Posted February 20, 2020 12 hours ago, John D.C. Masters said: Ohhh....but I currently have a moratorium on new kits. I have boxes in storage of kits that I am afraid will never be built. The perils of being somewhat single with no children. Next fall I'll have another giveaway. It is maddening to receive emails from Hannants...New Arrivals!!!!!! Makes me want to scream. This means, of course, that if I see something interesting at the store I might have to pick it up. My recent 'helicopter fetish' is a dangerous game... That's a fair point and something I've been trying to do myself. Far too many kits and no modelling time lately so trying not to add any more to the stash... yet there's so many new kits on the go I'd love to own and hopefully get a chance to work on some day. 12 hours ago, John D.C. Masters said: Speaking of which...nothing from Iceland in this GB so far, or am I missing something? Not much to choose from really, unless we include NATO forces based there. Their Coast Guard has some helicopters...commercial jets...hmmm... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Icelandic_Coast_Guard There is a few countries still not represented yet and remember it doesn't have to be an aircraft Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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